Hugo Latin American Mac Daddy

Writing in Slate Alexandra Starr talks about Hugo Chavez's growing influence in Latin America (I would have included the Caribbean). We've covered a great deal of it here but she adds some analysis. She touches on Hugo's Bolivarian delusion and the fact that Chavez's actions have forced us to pay more attention to LA. As she correctly notes however we have blundered badly in focusing on the anti-Hugo angle. L.A.'s aren't fools (well some of them aren't) they know what Chavez is about - they don't need visits from Rumsfeld telling them how scary he is. They need us to help the issues that threaten their stability and better trade relations.